Musical Instruments Workshop

If you were in the CEID Wednesday the 12th, you are well aware the first ever Musical Instruments Workshop was a huge success! By the end of the two hours, the workshop participants were serenading CEIDers with their new acrylic flutes.

Hanoi Hantrakul (’15) and Dr. Larry Wilen have been working for months to design a workshop which teaches the basic physics of acoustics and allows participants to create their own recorder-like flutes on the laser cutter and in the machine shop.

Did you know the laser cutter can cut and engrave circular objects? The CEID laser cutter has a rotary stage meant to engrave pieces like vases and mugs. Larry and Hanoi created a special device to hold the tube which would become a flute into place. The rotary function allowed students to create a design on CorelDRAW which was then engraved on the flute. The workshop also took advantage of the mill using a CNC program to cut holes in the tube. The wooden mouthpeices were carved using files and then inserted into the tube, completing the flute.

Soon after the flutes were finished, the CEID was filled with the tunes of Merry Had a Little Lamb, Do- Re –Mi, and more.